Australia’s Top 10 Commercial Mortgage Brokers 2015 - 6 James Giles

Joining the Green Finance Group in 2013 after a career at Westpac, Jamie Giles also brought over his specialist skills and network in the area of healthcare finance. As head of the bank’s Queensland healthcare arm, he managed a combined lending portfolio of $1.2bn, and he continues to specialise in equipment finance and leasing for healthcare professionals.

MPA: What distinguishes you from an average commercial broker?I basically deal with clients that I know a lot about; that’s my understanding of the healthcare sector. Primarily 95% of my business is done within that particular specialisation, and it’s what I know, and what my contacts know me as.

MPA: Do you focus on any particular area of commercial lending? Why?Most of my business is with the medical centre, dental practice and pharmacy areas of healthcare. It’s equipment finance; there’s a commercial property lending aspect to it, and also goodwill lending – i.e., cash flow – parts.

MPA: From your experience, is it essential to have run a business in order to succeed in commercial broking?Most definitely. Without having commercial acumen yourself, you can’t go in and expect, just because you’re talking to people, to make a living out of this sort of thing. You need a high level of commercial acumen to run your own business because otherwise, why would other people come to you asking for advice on how to run their own businesses appropriately?

MPA: Would you term yourself an advisor? How do you present yourself to clients?I don’t give advice; my role is a consultancy type role, and I basically guide them through certain processes and make sure they go to the specialists, the professional partners – the external business partners, you could call them – in order to get advice.

MPA: Is every loan different, or are there similar scenarios you frequently encounter?I think every loan is different, because people are looking to fund for different reasons; however, the familiarisation of the industry is always the same.

MPA: Do you see opportunities in your area of broking over the next 12 months, or is it time to consolidate?I’m still in a growth phase with my business. The market will most definitely still be there over the next 12 months.

MPA: What is your advice for brokers looking to enter the commercial market?The best piece of advice I could give would be that it’s not only important to have a network, but it’s also important for you to be able to leverage off that network and make it a commercially viable proposition.